Zayn Malik says honesty helps deal with anxiety

Singer Zayn Malik has learned to live with anxiety by openly discussing about things that make him uncomfortable.

The former One Direction star says publicly opening up about his condition has helped him.

Malik told Us Weekly that he deals with anxiety by "just being straight up. Just being honest about everything, explaining what it is that makes you feel uncomfortable, what it is that you're cool with."

The singer, 24, said he ensures that people understand where he is coming from and being open about this with his fans has benefitted him a lot.

"I feel like it was only a positive impact on everything that happened after it and people now have a better perspective on where I was coming from at the time and just an understanding that it wasn't coming from necessarily being ungrateful, shall we say, or not aware of the opportunities that were in front of me, it was just me struggling with being able to actually be there," he said.

"I'm definitely glad I got that off my chest, as anybody is when you feel like you're keeping something from someone you have to speak about it and clear up the air."

The singer opened up about his struggles with anxiety in his 2016 autobiography.